Macron calls for WHO powers to be boosted, Merkel backs call for pandemic treaty

FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) is pictured during the World Health Assembly (WHA) following the outbreak of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

GENEVA — French President Emmanuel Macron called on Monday for the World Health Organization (WHO) to be empowered to visit countries rapidly in case of outbreaks with the potential to spark a pandemic, and to access data.

Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in separate pre-recorded remarks to the WHO’s annual ministerial assembly, called for the U.N. agency’s funding to be improved and backed the idea of a new international treaty to prevent pandemics.